Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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With the report of six new cases last Friday, Wahkiakum County's tally of covid-19 cases hit a total of 155, with 37 of those potentially active. A news release from Wahkiakum County Health & Human Services (WHHS) Operations Manager Duncan Cruickshank said the cases had no connection with the Wahkiakum School District or St James Family Center. According to the Washington Department of Health, five patients from the county have been hospitalized, and one county resident has died of covid-19. The department's website says that 3,386 covid-19...
A hot timber market should boost Wahkiakum County revenue, representatives of the state Department of Natural Resources reported Tuesday. Also at Tuesday's meeting of the county board of commissioners, citizens and commissioners resumed discussion of how they'd like to address restrictive guidelines mandated to counter the covid-19 pandemic. DNR Regional Manager Eric Wisch and District Manager Padraig Callahan had good news and bad news. The good news is that the timber market continues to be hot, and that is boosting the potential revenue from...
Wahkiakum County commissioners spent over 30 minutes of their Tuesday meeting discussing effects of the urban-rural divide on county issues. Season and John Long returned to ask what could be done to counter mandated restrictions and vaccinations resulting from the covid-19 pandemic, and Kent and Irene Martin sought and received commission support to lobby the Washington State Fish and Wildlife Commission for action on salmon fishery issues. And Puget Island resident Jason Will asked commissioners to oppose Columbia Land trust projects in the...
A couple letter writers this week take me to task for printing an Associated Press article on racial issues. One said I should have featured Memorial Day. Well, on Page 1 was an article announcing the local Memorial Day ceremony presented by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5297. And on Page 1 of this week's issue is photo coverage of that event, as has occurred as long as I can remember the event occurring. The editorial cartoon last week also highlighted the sacrifices of fallen members of the armed services. Next, I have come to the...
Wahkiakum County's ability to earn revenue from state managed trust timberland took a jump Tuesday as the state Board of Natural Resources approved a purchase of 266 acres of timberland to add to the county's trusts. For much of his five-term tenure, Commissioner Dan Cothren has been lobbying state officials to increase the county's ability to earn money from the harvest of timber. The county has a little over 12,000 acres in trust timberland, but about one quarter of that is endangered species habitat and off limits to harvest. Revenue from...
Wahkiakum County's board of commissioners handled a variety of business at their meeting Tuesday, including: --Rebecca Hompe and Wendy Edwards of the Wahkiakum Animal Advocates Group (WAAG) described the growth and activities of the group and expressed a desire to develop a relationship with the group, the county and the Cowlitz County Humane Society. The group of volunteers has started a variety of programs ranging from trapping and neutering feral cats to establishing a pet food pantry and financial support for people needing to spay or...
The Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners was happy Tuesday to agree to a request for a letter of support for a Wahkiakum PUD application for grant funds to extend the Western Wahkiakum Water System (WWWS) to an unserved area west of the Deep River. PUD General Manager David Tramblie said the grant could fund a 2.25 mile extension from an existing main on Salmon Creek Road to its junction with SR 4 and back along the highway over Salme Hill down to the Oneida Road intersection. Area residents have been asking for WWWS water for years, but...
Wahkiakum County commissioners hosted an energetic discussion of pandemic response issues when they met Tuesday. Two men and a woman who were unidentified questioned county officials about covid-response issues after hearing Wahkiakum County Health & Human Services Director Chris Bischoff make a short report about new covid-19 illnesses in the county. "We’re having a little spike," Bischoff said. The county had 118 cases a week ago; as of Tuesday, there were 11 new cases for a total of 129. Some were individuals, Bischoff said, and there w...
Wahkiakum County Board of Commissioners handled a variety of business at their meeting Tuesday, including: --Commissioners had planned last week to act on a resolution supporting federal recognition of the Chinook Tribe; however, the resolution hadn't been finished, so action will be delayed to next week. --Commissioners asked that the prosecuting attorney's office provide more information about three claims for damages; one from 2018 for $300.05, another from 2019 for $500, and a third from 2020 for $900. The damages resulted from road...
Oneida Road residents are seeing a return of congestion problems on the county road to occur with many recreational fishing seasons. At the Tuesday meeting of the county board of commissioners, area resident Corbett McMasters asked county officials to enforce traffic laws and also to address a recent rash of burglaries. Anglers using the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife boat launch lack adequate parking and end up parking along the narrow county road, McMasters said. "It's one lane; it's crazy," McMasters said. Area residents have...
Candidates have started filing for positions on the 2021 election ballots. Filings as of the end of office hours Tuesday are below. So far, there are two contested postions. Cathlamet Mayor Dale Jacobson has filed for re-election, and Council Member Robert Stowe has also filed for the postion. Two persons have filed for Position 5 on the Wahkiakum School District board of directors; they are incumbent Robin Westphall and challenger Brandie Conrad. Former Wahkiakum County Commissioner Mike Backman has filed for Position 3 on the board of...
Wahkiakum County public health officials have set a goal of vaccinating 100 percent of the county's population against covid-19, and they've set a number of clinics to bring vaccinations to various parts of the county. The county Health & Human Services Department (WCHHS) will hold a clinic this Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12 noon at the Hope Center in Cathlamet. They will administer both first and second doses of the Moderna vaccine, one of the two-dose medications. Call the health department at 360 849-4041 to register for this clinic. On Sunday,...
With filing for election coming up next week, Wahkiakum County officials have adopted formal administrative rules for creation of a county voters guide. Candidates for office and jurisdictions running ballot measures such as special levies are required to furnish information for the pamphlet. Jurisdictions running ballot measures are also required to form committees to create for and against statements for the pamphlet. Submissions for the primary and general election pamphlets are due on the Friday following filing week. The county auditor's...
Wahkiakum County officials are just starting to understand how federal coronavirus relief aid funds could be used. Treasurer Tammy Peterson said Tuesday that she and county Auditor Nicci Bergseng had just received 150 pages of guidance. "It is very confusing with lots of reporting required," Peterson said via email. "The money isn't automatically sent to the counties; we have to apply for it first. It can be used to replace ‘lost revenue.'" This could include revenue from taxes, current charges, miscellaneous general revenue, and i...
The filing period for candidates for positions on this year's election ballot runs next Monday through Friday. Positions on the ballot are listed above; they include four positions on the Naselle/Gray's River Valley School District board of directors; three positions on the Wahkiakum School District board of directors; the mayor and three positions on the Cathlamet Town Council; two positions on the Port District 2 board of commissioners, and one position on the Port District 1 board of directors. Town Council Member Robert Stowe on Monday...
Health officials across the nation are starting to consider widespread easing of restrictions designed to halt the spread of the covid-19 virus. The rate of vaccination has slowed locally and nationwide, Chris Bischoff, director of Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services said Tuesday, and health officials are starting to doubt they'll be able to vaccinate enough of the population to reach a herd immunity that would stop the spread of the vaccine and its variants. Public demand has dropped for the two-shot Moderna vaccine the county has been...
Motorists traveing SR 4 will experience two major projects this year. The Washington Department of Transportation (WDOT) has scheduled paving work from Skamokawa to Longview and the start of crosswalk and speed limit reductions in the Cathlamet area, including the installation of speed feedback signs, school speed zone signs, crosswalks at high volume locations, and rectangular rapid flashing beacons. "This effort will also include a permanent regulatory speed reduction to 35 miles per hour,"...
Wahkiakum County commissioners on Tuesday set the salary for a new elections supervisor position and planned a meeting of county officials to consider adjustments to their salary schedule. They also heard concerns about herbicide application; they voted to give employees 3 percent cost of living raises, and they discussed concerns over noxious weed control. Auditor Nicci Bergseng last week requested the board approve a memorandum of understanding with the employee union to create the elections position and asked that it be paid at pay class 8...
Wahkiakum County officials and District 19 legislative representatives had little good to say about legislation reclassification of possession of small amounts of drugs. The legislation reclassifies possession as a misdemeanor, sending people into diversion programs for the first two offenses. "They know they can't get arrested," Mark Howie commented before the board of county commissioners on Tuesday. "We're already seeing an increase in thefts and burglaries." Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow noted that the change expires in two years to...
The budget passed by the state legislature last week contains funding important to Wahkiakum County, District 19 legislators (Senator Jim Wilson and Representatives Jim Walsh and Joel McEntire) told the board of commissioners Tuesday. The budget includes continued funding for the county ferry, the Oscar B, they said. This includes the funding for the state's 80 percent funding of ferry operations and backfill money to cover the state share of expenses beyond normal operations. County commissioners have requested increased support, even state...
By Rick Nelson The Wahkiakum School District board of directors discussed the need for an information technology (IT) strategy plan and what Superintendent Brent Freeman called funding inequities when they met Tuesday evening. The district needs to plan how it will develop and maintain its IT program which could be valued roughly at $750,000 and has equipment that needs to be replaced roughly every five years, Freeman said. "That scares me; that's a lot of money," Freeman said. "It concerns me that we have such a big requirement on a small...
Wahkiakum County's number of cases inched up by two cases to 108 this week as cases mounted in nearby counties. In a Monday morning briefing, Chris Bischoff, director of Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services, said one of the new cases was actually a Castle Rock resident, but the state Department of Health is attributing it to Wahkiakum County because of a mistaken address. "We can't get it corrected," Bischoff said. Four of the 108 cases are considered potentially active. Cowlitz County's...
A request to create a new position at a new pay rate has spurred county officials to begin a new analysis of their salary schedule. The position, said Auditor Nicci Bergseng, is called Auditor Recording/Election Coordinator and would be paid at step 8 on the county salary schedule. Commissioners were ready to vote on a motion to approve the request, but after other department heads raised concerns, they amended their motion to say they would vote on the issue at their April 27 meeting. Bergseng had explained that the employee in the position...
Wahkiakum County commissions on Tuesday made good of their intention announced last week to adopt a resolution opposing infringement of rights guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The resolution came at the request of Commissioner Dan Cothren who feels state and federal agencies are starting to infringe on people's right to bear firearms. The resolution cites the commissioners' oath of office to uphold the state and federal constitutions, and that there have been no exceptions to the 2nd Amendment. The resol...
Editor’s note: The print edition incorrectly states that the county health department will hold a vaccination clinic on Friday. The clinic will actually be on Saturday, April 17. We most sincerely regret the error. By Rick Nelson Wahkiakum County's covid-19 virus caseload increased by two this past week and now totals 106 effective Tuesday; on Thursday another case was added to boost the total to 107. Chris Bischoff, director of Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services, said Monday that the two individuals were in quarantine. Neighboring C...
